Blockchain Platform Hedera Hashgraph Raises $100M USD In Funding

Blockchain startup Hedera Hashgraph has raised $100 million from institutional investors and individuals to further develop its public distributed ledger platform and network.

Hedera’s distributed public ledger enables anyone to easily develop globally decentralized applications. The hashgraph technology is a consensus mechanism based on a virtual voting algorithm combined with the gossip protocol to achieve consensus quickly, fairly, efficiently, and securely. The technology aims to provide the benefits of blockchain as a distributed ledger technology without the limitations.

The new funding will be used to accelerate development of key services to be provided by Hedera, including a cryptocurrency, file storage service, and smart contract platform. Hedera is planning to launch the network and start giving early access to some partners next month.

“We are excited to be on the cusp of launching our network,” said Dr. Leemon Baird, co-founder and Chief Scientist of Hedera. “We are grateful for the commitments of our investors and employees, as well as the strong support we continue to receive from the community. In addition, we want to acknowledge the incredible role the developer community has and will continue to play in our growth, and we will be providing opportunities for developers to earn tokens as we roll out the network throughout the year.”

Hedera’s goal is to build a strong, global community of developers and advocates who are attracted to the speed, security, and scalability benefits of the hashgraph technology.

“Hedera hashgraph is one of the most exciting projects in cryptocurrency from an engineering perspective,” said Ari Paul, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner of BlockTower Capital, and Hedera investor. “In addition, the experienced team and the advances they have made to date in developing a functioning network make them a standout in the distributed ledger market. We are pleased to support them as they roll out the next phase of their development, and as interest grows around their network launch.”

Hedera is also planning to raise a further $20 million through a public crowdsale, which began on August 1 and runs through August 15. The crowdsale will be conducted in accordance with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations as a private placement pursuant to Rule 506(c).

“As we come close to completing initial development of the Hedera network, we are pleased to be opening our crowdsale to the community – without whose support we would not be where we are today – under the same terms offered to institutional investors in this funding round,” said Tom Trowbridge, President of Hedera. “These are the same terms under which management and employees have invested over $10 million in the most recent round. Separately, the majority of the tokens granted to the co-founders vest in four to six years. This clearly demonstrates our long-term belief in, and commitment to the growth of Hedera.”